Everything Changes
by The Muse of Apollo
Summary: AU End of Season 2. Everything changes when Castle decides he's had enough. How does Kate handle his departure? What happens when they next meet? Rated M for Adult Situations. ***Officially Abandoned, Sorry***
1. Chapter 1

**a.n. I know I said I was going to stay away from Castle for a while, but hey, I had this idea and decided to go with it. Not too sure on the length of this one, could be 10 or 20 chapters.**

 **This AU from about ¾ into 2x24.**

 **Disclaimer: I assume that ABC just cancelled Castle. Because if they were selling it…well I'd still not own it. Too damn poor.**

 **xxxx**

" _Beach house? Thought you were working this weekend," Castle asked, wondering why she would lie._

 _Looking sheepish, Kate said, "Yeah. I'm sorry, Castle. I should've just told you. I just didn't want things to be awkward between us, now that Tom and I are together."_

 _Trying to control his instinctive response to being lied to (after all, he'd had quite enough of that in his life, thank you very much), Castle replied, "No, I get it. Yeah. No you want your private life to be private."_

" _Yeah I just don't – don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable," she said, happy that he was taking it so well._

Castle's first instinct was to tell her he was done following her (though cloaking it as if he had planned to get away from her all along). But he liked shadowing her, and didn't want the decision to stop to be made at the drop of a dime. Though he had been thinking about ending their 'partnership' ever since Tom Demming had come into the fray. She had been treating him differently, almost like she had when he had first started to shadow her. Cold, indifferent, instead of being a valued part of the team. It had bothered him, but he had always had a thick skin when it came to that sort of thing (years of bullies at boarding school having toughened him up), so he had stuck around despite how she was treating him.

Now this lie was just another thing leading him to the same conclusion he had been unwilling to see for the last several weeks: _She feels nothing for me._ It was hard for him to admit failure, but it seemed to him as though his love was unrequited. It hurt.

"It's fine, Kate," Castle said finally. "So what's next with the case?"

xxxx

 **Friday May 28**

The case was finished and they had ordered pizza and beer to celebrate and start the three-day weekend off with a bang.

When Demming showed up to meet Kate, Castle watched from his chair next to Esposito, who was trying to down his fourth bottle of beer.

"Kate, you ready to go?" Demming asked from the doorway.

"Yeah," Beckett said excitedly. She got up, grabbed her jacket, and walked to the door where Demming wrapped his arm around her waist.

"See you guys Tuesday," Kate said to the room in general, then allowed herself to be lead out. Castle watched her go. It was obvious she was happy to go away with her beau. He had been thinking about his future ever since he uncovered her lie. He was 40 years old. He could no longer sit around and wait for his dream life to come to him. He had known he felt something for Kate Beckett since their second case together. She had hated him, of course, but he only saw that as a challenge. It wasn't until her apartment blew up that he knew for sure. He was in love with the lovely detective.

The problem was she obviously didn't feel the same. He had thought they were making progress, but once Tom Demming showed up, she had just gone right back to putting Castle back into his proper place in her eyes. _Writer boy._ That was all he would ever be to her. The plucky sidekick.

It was time for him to make a change. He stood up and said goodbye to the boys in blue, told them he'd see them on Tuesday and made his way out of the 12th precinct. He had things to do. It was time to say goodbye to Kate Beckett and move on with his life.

xxxx

 **Tuesday June 1**

Richard Castle walked into the 12th precinct for what he planned on being the last time. The weekend hadn't been fun at all, but he'd gotten through. He'd made his plans, and had scheduled some meetings for the next week that would help him in his future plans.

The first thing he was planning on doing was ending the Nikki Heat series. While he liked the character, writing it would be much harder without Kate Beckett in his life. As he was almost done with the second book, he had decided that he would negotiate with Black Pawn to cut the contract back, so that he only had to do one more book instead of two. He already had some ideas for the next character, so he didn't think Gina would be too hard to convince. If they weren't willing to renegotiate the contract, he would suffer through, but would find a new publisher when he was over. As he was Black Pawn's bestselling author, he didn't think he would really have to threaten them that much.

He would spend the rest of the summer finishing Nikki Heat for good. He had plans for when Alexis came back in the fall, and he had hopes that she would go along with them.

Now it was time to end the 'partnership' he had relied on for the last two years. He wasn't looking forward to the conversation that he knew needed to happen, but then, it was his life. He was done wallowing in a pool of unrequited love. He had stuck around because he believed he had a chance. Now that he knew that wasn't the case, it was time for him to move on. She could be happy with her detective boyfriend, and Castle might be able to finally find his third time's the charm.

xxxx

Kate smiled when he put the coffee cup down on her desk near her elbow. She'd had a great weekend. Tom was such a nice guy, but more importantly, he wasn't Richard Castle. She knew that in a way she was using Tom Demming to hide from her feelings for her shadow, but she just didn't trust Rick Castle with her heart. After all he was a two-time loser. She wanted one and done, and she was convinced that Castle couldn't offer her that.

"Good morning, Castle," she said, smiling brightly. Her good mood, however, was dampened somewhat by the grim expression on her shadow's face.

"Good morning, Detective. Do you think we can talk privately?" She had never heard Castle sound so serious before. Even in the hairy situations they had found themselves in over the last two years, he'd always tried to keep things light. A feeling of dread crept up on her, but she nodded and got up from her chair.

When they got to the break room, Castle shut and locked the door behind them.

"What did you want to talk about, Castle. I don't have all day."

Grimacing at her cold tone, "I'm here to say goodbye, actually."

The feeling of dread changed to a bone chilling fear. "What do you mean," she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"I've really enjoyed our time together, Kate. But it's just time for me to move on. I've got all the research I need for the last Nikki Heat books. I've got some ideas for a new character that I want to start researching.

"And…it's been clear for the last few weeks that you don't really want me around."

"What-Castle, that's not true. I…" Kate protested.

"It is true, though, Beckett. Ever since Demming came into your life you've reverted to treating me like you did when we first met."

"Is that it, you're leaving because of my relationship with Tom? That's none of your business, Castle!" Kate said defensively.

"I know that. I know. Look, it doesn't matter. I don't want to get into an argument. I really had a great time with you these last two years. It's just time for me to move on and start something new."

"So this is it? You just worm your way into my life, then just up and leave once I start relying on you." Oh. So she was going to play the guilt card. He should have known that this wasn't going to be easy. Kate Beckett never allowed anything to change without a fight.

Before he could retort, she said, "Fine. You want to leave, then go. Just don't expect me to care when you come crawling back." With that she stormed out of the break room, nearly breaking the glass in the door when she threw it open.

Castle sighed. He had hoped that they could end their time together on a good note, but alas it hadn't happened.

Moving with regret, he moved around the 12th precinct Homicide division, saying goodbye to the friends he had made over the course of two years. Esposito and Ryan tried to give him a hard time about it, no doubt thinking they had to protect their sister. Lanie was sad to see him go, but he could see that she understood. Montgomery was also sad to see him go, and made Rick promise to keep holding their weekly poker games.

When Richard Castle walked out of the precinct for the last time he missed Kate watching him from the shadows. She hadn't been able to hold in the tears after their time in the breakroom, so she had fled to the bathroom. When she had gotten ahold of herself, she had watched as Castle said goodbye to everyone on the fourth floor. He wasn't even gone yet and already she missed him.

She watched as he caught the elevator, and had to blink back tears as the doors closed. She had thought that he would be by her side always. She hadn't thought about his feelings, or how her relationship with Tom might affect her partnership with Castle. In fact, she had been happy when her relationship had enabled her to put some distance between her and her partner.

Now that she had pushed Castle away, she realized that she might have just made the biggest mistake of her life. Rick Castle had just walked out of her life almost as quickly as he had entered it. Fighting back tears, Kate made her way back to her desk, thinking about how things might have been different if only she had been just a little stronger.

xxxx

 **a.n.2. So that is the first chapter. The update schedule on this is currently unknown. It might be every two weeks or so.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**a.n. First, wow. That was the by far the largest response to a first chapter I've had since I started** _ **A Second Chance.**_ **Thanks so much. Since it was so well received, I'm inspired and you get a second chapter.**

 **Second, I put dates in the first chapter, but didn't put a year. Assume it's 2010.**

 **Finally, I'm doing something different in this fic. There will be a fairly quick resolution to the original angst. I wanted to try to see how they might have gotten together if Castle had been honest about really leaving, and Gina didn't show up. Were they ready for a relationship at the end of season 2? I'm also going to go with a much more open Kate than normal, though she will still fight with her walls.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

 **xxxx**

 **June 1 2010 7PM Kate Beckett's Apartment**

Kate fell onto her couch and let out a sob. This had to have been the worst day she'd had since her mother had been killed. Not only did Castle end their partnership, but she had also broken up with her boyfriend. Without Castle there, she found that she didn't even really like the robbery detective. He was abrasive and rude, and when he had come to pick her up after her shift had ended, his personality just broke through her blinders, and forced her to act.

He had not taken it well. Their row in the lobby of her apartment was sure to go down in neighborhood lore as the loudest ever recorded.

In a way she felt bad. She knew that she had used him. She knew it. Hell, he probably knew it. It didn't matter though. Nothing seemed to matter to her now. It felt like a piece of her life was completely gone now that Castle had chosen to leave her life.

Her emotions were all over the place. She was sad and broken. But she was also angry. How could he just leave her like that? How could he use her like that?

Deep down she knew it was her fault, but it didn't make her feel any better. To her his leaving brought on all her insecurities about starting a relationship with him. After her apartment had blown up, she had been so close to starting something with him. He had been so sweet offering her a place to stay, and hadn't pressured her at all, which had surprised her greatly. But his reputation kept her from acting on it.

Okay, so she knew he wasn't a complete jackass. He had a lot of excellent qualities. And she knew that he wasn't the Playboy she had first thought, but he still seemed to roam between women. Ellie Monroe was the prime example of him just treating his relationships as disposable. She would not be one of those women. What she felt for him was too strong, and she knew when their relationship ended (as she knew it inevitably would), she would break completely.

It didn't matter now, of course. He was gone and he wasn't coming back.

xxxx

 **June 30 2010 5:56 PM ET New York City**

She had broken down and called him. The last month had been hell for her. She had known that she had come to rely on her writer for more than just her morning coffee fix, but she hadn't thought trying to live without him would be as hard as it seemed to be.

What surprised her the most, was that he had changed his number. She had known he was mad at her, and that she hadn't handled his departure well, but she hadn't thought that he would go so far to avoid her.

After calling him several times over the course of the last three days, she had decided that a visit to his loft was in order.

She pounded on his door for five minutes before the door opened suddenly and she found herself looking at a sweating Castle without a shirt on.

"Detective? What can I do for you," Castle asked, obviously out of breath.

Silence.

She'd always been attracted to Castle, even before she had met him in person. She'd never seen him sans shirt, however. She would have never expected her partner…her ex-partner to be so buff.

"See something you like, Beckett," Castle asked teasingly, finally breaking her out of her ogling. She looked up and found that insufferable smirk on his face that she found so damn aggravating and sexy. No, just aggravating.

"Can I come in?" Kate blurted out, flustered at being caught.

Smirking, Castle stepped out of the doorway and led her into the living room. "I'll just go put a shirt on," he said after she had taken a seat. She almost wanted to protest, but held her tongue.

Now that she was here, Kate didn't know what she was going to say. What did she want? She knew that she wanted him back at the precinct, by her side, but did she want more than that? Was she ready for more than that?

She knew she had deep feelings for Richard Castle, but she also didn't know if she could risk her heart. She knew, deep down, that it wasn't even his mostly-false reputation that kept her from being able to commit. It was her. Ever since her mother died, she had kept her heart walled up, and made sure that no one could hurt her again by leaving her.

Somehow, Castle had wormed his way past her defenses, and that scared her more than anything she had ever faced.

She was brought out of her thoughts by Castle who came back into the room, now wearing a tight white t-shirt, which didn't do anything to improve her concentration.

"So what can I do for you detective," Castle asked, choosing to ignore her blatant staring. Sure he would love to tease her, but he knew it would be so easy to fall into their banter and he would be right back to where he had been, which was nowhere. He had promised himself that he was going to move on, and he was going to keep that promise.

"I'm sorry," Kate blurted out, not really knowing where to start or what to say.

"For what?"

Thinking for a few moments, Kate replied, "I'm sorry for how I treated you at the precinct before you left. You didn't deserve that. You…you were right about Tom. I…was using him to push you away.

"The truth is…Castle…you scare the hell out of me."

Silence. Then Castle asked, "Why do I scare you, Kate?"

Taking a deep breath, and trying to ignore the tears that were forming in her eyes, Kate replied, "I've never felt this way before. I've always kept one foot out the door in all my relationships, never allowing myself to fall for any guy at all, but I'm losing that battle with you. I know I'm falling in love with you, and that is _terrifying_ to me. I can't fall in love with you, Rick! I'm a broken police detective, you're a millionaire father with two divorces under his belt.

"We don't fit together, Rick. We just don't. Not on paper, and not in real life. We're just very different. But then how is it that I feel like this? How is it that now that you've walked away, I feel like my whole world has ended?" She was crying now, but she didn't care. The last month had broken her more than she cared to admit, and this was just the breaking point.

Castle sat in stunned silence for several minutes. She was falling in love with him? Part of him was jumping for joy inside, because he was definitely falling in love with her. Another part was angry. She was telling him this now? And why was she telling him? She wasn't exactly telling him they should be together. In fact, it sounded to him that she was saying the exact opposite.

"I really don't know what to tell you, Kate. I really don't. I'm not exactly great at this. For sure I didn't expect to fall in love with you when I started shadowing you. In fact, I was pretty much set on never being in love again after the last two disasters. Sometimes love sucks, and frankly I've had enough of it for a lifetime. Two cheating ex-wives, and now whatever has happened between us. It's all just too much for me. It's why I'm trying to move on."

"Wait…two cheating ex-wives?"

He looks up at her from where he sits farther down on the couch. "Yeah. Both Meredith and Gina cheated on me. It's what ended both marriages. It's why I have the playboy reputation. No long term relationships was my rule after the second marriage fell apart." He shrugged, "Then I met you and dammit if you didn't make me fall in love with you. I tried not to, of course."

They sat in silence for several minutes, the distance between them getting larger and larger. Kate wondered what she should have expected from her visit here.

"Why Meredith then? I know you've been with her since you divorced her?" It didn't make sense to her. Why sleep with someone after they broke your heart and cheated on you?

"Honestly? This is going to sound dumb, but I did it for Alexis."

"Alexis?"

"Yeah. Meredith likes the sex, and it keeps her coming back. At least when Alexis was younger, and as long as I was single, I kept it up so that at least once a year Meredith would show up to be a part of Alexis' life."

Kate stared at him, quite awed by his answer. Okay, so it wasn't as if it was a hardship on his part, but still. It was obvious from what she just heard that he doesn't really like Meredith, yet he still slept with her so that the…selfish bitch…would spend time with her daughter. Wow.

"That's…sweet, Castle. I didn't think you had it in you."

"I know you didn't. You have to admit that I've made much more effort in getting to know you than you've put in getting to know me."

She knew that was true, but it still hurt.

"Why are we even talking about this, Kate? You're not here to give me a chance to prove we could be great together. At least from what you've said, I don't think you are. So why are you here?"

Why had she come? Why had she put herself through this? Hadn't she wanted Castle out of her life for so long? But, she didn't anymore. She wanted him in her life. Needed him, apparently. But as what? As a partner and friend? A lover? A…husband? What did she want?

The problem was she knew exactly what…or more accurately who…she wanted, but the question was, was she brave enough to reach out and get it?

"Ah, fuck it…" she said before she pounced on him, pressing her lips to his, forcing her tongue into his mouth. She knew that everything would change now that she'd taken this step, but she also had high hopes that they'd change for the better.

xxxx

 **a.n.2. There's chapter two. Honestly, the end of season 2 is the easiest place to get these two together based on canon events. The lie Kate told isn't unreasonable. And she came to her senses once Esposito gave her a kick in the pants. Gina is the only reason why they didn't get together.**

 **Now that we're farther into this story, I can now better estimate its proper course. I'm going to try and write out of my comfort zone for this fic. I LOVE ANGST! And since that is true, normally the next chapter would be a time jump to the next part of the story where I could write my favorite type of conflict. But not this time. I'm going to write it all with as few time jumps as possible. The month long time jump in this chapter was necessary. No way was Kate going to capitulate in a single day. Way too stubborn.**

 **I'm also going AU here with some original cases and a different villain for her mom's case. I'm tired of writing stock canon for those events. I know I've tried my hand at cases before and found I'm terrible at it, but how do you get better if you don't practice?**

 **Anywhoo…**

 **Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**a.n. This is just a short one, a longer chapter will come out late next week (like Thursday-ish). Strong language in this one.**

 **disclaimer: I don't own Castle. /disclaimer**

 **June 30 2010 6:30PM ET New York City**

He had been dreaming of their first kiss for over two years, but he hadn't even come close to understanding how great it would feel. For several moments after she pounced on him from where she had been sitting across from him on the couch, he simply enjoyed the electric feeling of her lips on his. It wasn't until her tongue swiped over the seam of his lips that his brain kicked in and he started to kiss her back.

As the British would say, they snogged each other's brains out for what must have been the next ten minutes, only taken small breaks to breathe in quickly before attaching their lips together once more. When they finally broke apart, the buttons of Kate's blouse were undone while the buttons on his button down were no longer attached to the shirt itself, instead scattered across the floor. Castle pushed himself away from her, the confusion of the last twenty minutes coming back to him full force.

Kate leaned back away from him as well, looking at him with a look that he couldn't quite place. A mixture of lust, confusion and fear if he had to guess. It was the fear that got to him the most. If she was so afraid of this, why had she even come to see him? He was leaving her behind, giving her what she had claimed to want for the last two years. Why would she complicate it even more than it already was by coming here and kissing him? What did she want?

"I gotta go," Kate said suddenly, then tried to sprint towards the door.

If you asked anyone close to Richard Castle the last word they would likely use to describe him would be quick or agile or nimble. However, when he saw Kate Beckett make a break for the door, he knew that if he didn't stop her he would never get the answers to his questions. He moved more quickly than he had ever before and managed to catch her wrist before she turned the knob on the loft's door.

"Where the hell are you going, Beckett?"

"Let me go, Castle!" She yelled as she tried to remove her wrist out of his grip.

"No. You can come back and we can talk. Why did you kiss me? Why are you running from it? Why did you come here tonight if you were so afraid of being with me?"

It didn't seem like he was going to get an answer, so he tried to turn her around to face him. Quicker than he thought possible, Kate had him on his back and she was straddling his hips. She held his hands now above his hands and looked him straight in the eyes.

"You don't get to call the shots, Castle! Kissing you was a mistake, okay? I shouldn't have come here at all, now I'm going," she said firmly, before releasing his hands and trying to stand up. Before she could get to her feet, Castle flipped them over and pinned her to the floor.

"No, Kate. We're going to talk about this or we're done," Castle said, calmly. He'd already walked away from her a month ago. He didn't think that it would be hard for him to do it again, but just saying the words now that they had kissed caused him to feel sick. "I'm going to get up. You have a choice. You can come back to the couch and we can talk about this, or you can walk away and we'll never see each other again. It's your choice." With that, Castle got up and walked to the couch, mostly expecting to hear the door open and close, signaling the end to his hope.

He's surprised when she sits next to him on the couch a few moments later.

"You wanted to talk, talk," Kate said gruffly, crossing her arms over chest. She'd re-buttoned her blouse.

"Why did you kiss me?" Castle asked.

She sat in silence, and continued to avoid his eyes. Why hadn't she just walked away when she had the chance? She didn't know why she had kissed him. She had gone from saying she was scared of starting anything with him to making out with him on the couch. It didn't make any sense.

And the kiss had scared her even more. She had never felt like that before. The sensations were still flowing through her body more than ten minutes after the they had stopped. Was that normal? She didn't think it was.

And now he wouldn't let it go. But she also didn't want to leave and never see him again. What did she want?

She could feel Castle staring at her, waiting for an answer.

When it became clear to him that she wasn't going to say anything, Castle asked a question that shocked her out of her thoughts more completely than anything else could have.

"Do you want to have sex with me?"

"What?!" Kate said, whipping her head around to stare at him. Where the hell had that come from?

"Well if that is all that kiss was, to get it out of your system. We can go to the bedroom, fuck and then you can leave. You may say you have feelings for me, Kate, but they can't be that strong, or you'd be more forceful with this. You are never weak. Not in anything I've ever seen. If you really wanted something with me, your fear wouldn't be holding you back. So is that what you want? A quick fuck and a goodbye?"

How could he think that of her? But then she thought about it. What had she done to express that she felt more for him than that? He had shown her. Over and over again, he had shown her that he cared for her more than any other man had ever cared except her own father. And yet, she had shown him nothing but scorn, derision, and contempt.

Maybe that was her real problem; the real hurdle that kept her from asking for more from him. Did she deserve him?

"No," Kate whispered. "No. That isn't what I want. I don't…I want you. I just want you. But I'm so scared. I'm so broken on the inside. I don't know if I can give you what you deserve."

"Kate…" He reached forward with his hand and caressed her cheek. He lent forward and pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. "I want this...let me fix you." He kissed her again. This time she kissed him back, and it was amazing.

The two of them kissed softly for several minutes before they pulled apart.

"We should stop," Rick said, his hand still cupping her cheek.

"Castle?"

"We should take this slow, don't you think? I mean I really want this to work, and I don't think either one of us is ready for anything too serious, right? But I don't want it to be all about sex."

Well, damn, Kate thought, if that isn't the sweetest thing she had ever heard. She leaned forward again and kissed him, this time passionately. When she pulled back she said, "You're right. So…boyfriend…think you might want to go to dinner with me?"

"Boyfriend?"

"Well, I need to call you something," Beckett said playfully. "I could call you boytoy instead?"

"No, boyfriend sounds fine," Castle said, slightly awed at having the title already. "And yes, I'd love to go to dinner." He looked down at his destroyed shirt and said, "I think I may want to change first though."

"But I like you like that," she pouted.

Castle laughed and got to his feet. It had been a close call, but they were at least closer now than they had been when she had shown up at his door an hour earlier. It was a start, at least.

 **a.n.2. There's chapter 3. Originally I planned for smut in this chapter, but then I thought about it, and figured that they need to actually build a relationship first. This won't be an easy road for them all the time, but there will be fluff. I'm also going to throw in some original cases in there for some spice.**

 **Reviews are like really good pizza. So leave me some reviews, because I'm hungry.**


	4. Chapter 4

**a.n. Sorry for the long delay. You probably know if you follow my work that I do great angst. I can't do fluff very well. Unfortunately, this story calls for quite a bit of fluff. Hence the delay in this chapter.**

 **My plan was to start doing longer chapters for my Castle stories, like I've started doing for HP, but this one isn't. More because I wanted to get it out this week instead of next.**

 **Also, note the name change for my profile. I thought I needed something more creative.**

 **Look for updates every two weeks from now on.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

 **xxxx**

 **June 30 2010 7:48 PM ET New York City Kate Beckett's Apartment**

Kate had gone home to change into something date worthy while Castle cleaned himself up. He had also said it was kind of a big deal to pick the girl up on the first date. It had caused her to roll her eyes, but inside she was loving it. She had come so close to ruining everything, and now she might have a chance that she hadn't thought possible. She knew they still had hurdles to overcome. For one she still needed to get him to come back to the precinct.

She chose a stylish yellow summer dress with matching heels that showed off her legs. She tied her hair back in a ponytail and added a modicum of makeup. She was nervous, and she wanted this date to be perfect.

Finishing with a small amount of cherry lip gloss, Kate took a look at her reflection in the mirror in front of her. She looked great. She knew Castle would be speechless at seeing her in a dress, something he hadn't seen in quite a while.

She was brought out of her admiration by the sound of someone knocking at the door. Concealing her nerves, Kate made her way out through her bedroom, through her apartment and to the apartment's door.

When she opened the door, she both enjoyed the look of shock on Castle's face and had a moment of swooning herself. He was dressed in a black suit, minus the tie, with a blue shirt that matched his eyes. He cut quite the figure, and Kate knew that she would have just as hard a time keeping her hands to herself as she suspected he would.

"You look so beautiful," Castle said almost reverently. She tried not to blush, but failed spectacularly. She kind of felt like a teenager again, going on her first date. The only difference was that her parents weren't standing behind her for comfort and to give stink eyes to her date.

There was also the tiny thing that she might already be in love with the man standing in front of her. That had certainly never happened before.

"Thanks," she mumbled. She grabbed her purse, and stepped out of her apartment. After locking the door, she asked, "So where are we going?"

Castle smiled, "We're going to a small burger joint I found a few years ago. The downside is that their shakes aren't quite as good as Remy's, but their burgers are fantastic. Oh and they have bottomless fries too. It may not be glamourous, but I didn't think we need La Cirque for our first date."

Kate laughed, grabbed his hand and led him towards the elevator. This was going to be a great first date, she just knew it.

xxxx

The restaurant, if you could call it that, was really nothing more than a hole in the wall a few blocks away from central park. Other than the counter and a few cheap plastic chairs and tables, there wasn't much to it.

It definitely didn't fit with the glamourous ideal she had for a first date with Richard Castle. It was almost too simple.

But once they had their burgers and fries, she knew why he had brought her to this particular place. She had always had a thing for a good burger. It was why Remy's was so great for her. This though…this put Remy's to shame.

"Oh…this is soooo good," Kate said around her first bite.

In between bites of their dinner, they talked about the last month at the precinct, mostly avoiding deep conversation. It seemed like a normal night out with him, which relaxed Kate quite a bit. It was nice knowing that they wouldn't lose themselves now that they had committed to a relationship with each other.

"So, Kate, let's play a game," Castle said, taking a sip of his soda.

"Game?"

"Yeah, 20 questions. Help us to get to know each other better. If you feel uncomfortable with a question, just let me know and we'll move on."

"Mmmm, okay. You ask first," Kate replied, taking another bite of her burger.

Castle thought for a minute. "Highschool GPA?"

"3.9. Would have been better but Junior year I skipped a few classes and my grades slipped."

"Well you certainly did better than I did. I barely broke 3.0, granted I moved around a lot, so it was a little harder to get interested in going to school."

"Okay, my turn. Did you have any jobs before you started to write?"

Castle laughed, "Yeah, I bagged groceries at a small market for a while at the end of my Senior year in High School, then in college I…God, I can't believe I'm telling you this…" He paused, and Kate noticed a blush taking over his cheeks. Her curiosity peaked, she motioned for him to spill it. "I…uh…worked as a male dancer for a while."

"You were a stripper!" Kate said, way too loudly for a public place.

"Shh….Dammit, Kate, you want the Ledger to know that?"

Kate giggled. "I can't believe you did that!" she exclaimed in a softer voice.

"What can I say, I need the money. Mother didn't have any money to send me to school and I wanted a degree. It also helped because it was at night and I could go to class and write during the day. I'm not particularly ashamed of it. But…Alexis doesn't even know, so don't tell her."

"Alexis doesn't know? Then why tell me?"

Castle was silent for a moment before saying softly, "I want you to know everything about me."

Kate's heart melted and she reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. "Your turn."

"What about you? What jobs did you have before you became a cop?"

"Oh…well I modeled for a while, but that didn't last long."

"I know, I've seen the pictures."

"I'm going to kill them," Kate growled, while Castle chuckled. "They were sworn to secrecy."

"I'd offer to hold them down, but I don't think you need me to do that for you."

Kate giggled again, imagining Castle trying to overpower Esposito. Once she calmed down, she continued, "After that I didn't really do anything. My mom and dad were fairly well off, so during college I focused on my studies. After mom died, I doubled down so I could get into the Academy quicker. I transferred to NYU and finished my degree in three years."

"Tell me about getting your bike, I've never heard that story."

"Oh, my mom was so mad when I told her what I was saving money for. I started to save the money as soon as I got my driver's license and bought it during my senior year of high school. I used small jobs to make the money like tutoring or running errands for neighbors. When I bought the bike, my mom refused to talk to me for a whole week.

"I think she thought that would make me change my mind," Kate said, laughing. "Of course, I was so stubborn, there wasn't any way I was going to give that up. In some way, I remember liking the feeling of doing something I knew that my parents disapproved of. As I went through high school, that feeling would get me into a lot of trouble."

They laughed together, both enjoying themselves immensely. Kate asked the next question, "Did you ever do anything to set Martha off?"

"Oh, all the time. I think I enjoyed rebelling so much because I was left alone so often. She was always so busy, so when I was home from any of my long string of boarding schools I would spend time doing pretty much anything to get her attention.

"It wasn't until my junior from high school that my rebellious attitude got me into trouble."

"Oh? What did you do that was so bad?"

"I stole a car."

"You did what?"

"I know, right? Not something you really would have thought I would do, but I did. Of course it was a farce from the start. It was my girlfriend's father's car, and he saw me take it. It was right after she broke up with me, and well…I was mad. So I grabbed the keys to his car, and took off.

"Mother was so pissed that she made me take the car right back. Luckily I got it back before the man called the cops. I apologized, gave him some money for the gas I used, and begged for him not to call the police. He agreed, but just barely. I had to promise not to come near his daughter again, though. As if I would have anyways. She was damn scary. Crazy eyes, you know?"

Kate giggled. When she had arrived at his loft earlier in the day, she had never thought that she would end it like this. Maybe they really had a chance.

They talked for over two hours, trading stories of their childhoods and college years, and Kate enjoyed it immensely. They would have stayed longer, but a big muscled man, with the name Peter on his nametag, came out to announce that the restaurant was closing up shop.

"Want to walk back to your place," Castle asked, taking her hand and leading her out of the burger joint.

"Sure."

"Castle?" Kate asked, breaking the silence they had been walking in for the first few minutes.

"Hmmm?"

"Are…are you coming back to the precinct?"

He was silent for several minutes. Kate almost asked the question again, thinking he hadn't heard her. But she held her tongue after seeing that he was deep in thought.

"Do you want me to?" Castle asked.

"Yes," she insisted. "I…I need my partner there. But if you don't want to, that's…that's okay. I want this…us…no matter what you decide."

Castle was silent again. "I…After I left, I made changes to my Nikki Heat contract. The three book deal was edited down to two. One of them is done and I've started on the last one. I had to use every ounce of good will I've earned with them over the last twenty years to get them to change a contract mid-cycle." He sighed, and ran his hand though his hair, not wanting to disappoint her.

"So, you aren't coming back?" Kate asked softly.

"Well, I think I might, actually. I don't know what the future holds for my writing. I'll let Black Pawn know that the future of Nikki isn't as set in stone as I had thought, and I'll decide as I get closer to the end of this last book. If I think I can write more, I'll let Paula negotiate another contract. Or I have another idea. Hell, I might do both if I get inspired."

Kate stopped and pulled him into a hug, then leaned back and captured his lips in a passionate kiss. They may have decided to take it slow, but she was extremely happy with how it had all turned out.

xxxx

 **July 6** **th** **2010 4:40AM ET Kate Beckett's Apartment**

Kate was brought out of a sound sleep by the sound of her phone ringing. Groaning, she picked it up off the night stand, hit the answer button and shoved it against her ear. Her eyes were not going to open until she knew they absolutely had to.

"Beckett," she answered, sleepily. She listened as dispatch alerted her to a body drop and gave her the address. When she hung up, Kate remembered what day it was. Castle was coming back for the first time since he had walked out of the precinct.

It had been a wonderful weekend. They had spent it together, both enjoying their time together immensely. They were still cautious, going no further than some very steamy make out sessions, but they were undeniably getting closer to one another.

Kate had no idea that the next week would test her new relationship to its limits.

xxxx

 **a.n.2. Okay, so you may ask some questions about this chapter. First, a burger joint? Yes. I know, not what you might expect, especially since it wasn't Remy's. But I thought it fit their style better, and I didn't want to use an Italian restaurant again.**

 **Second, you should know what's going on. This is going to turn into a case fic. The story will take us through to the end of the case, and then end. As to where their relationship will be by that point, I don't know yet. They may not have even slept together by that point. This story is going to be the first in a series of case fics I have planned, if all goes well. Their relationship will develop over the series, instead of happening all at once. Kind of like the show developed it. They really will be taking it slow.**

 **Please let me know what you think! Reviews are magic!**


	5. Author's Note

Author's Note:

As you may have noticed if you followed this story, I've not updated in a…well a long, really long time. So what's the problem?

I'm blocked. As in writer's blocked. I have so many plans for this particular story/series that they've all mixed together and I don't know what's what or where to go. I've tried many times in the last three months to get it started again, but what comes out of my keyboard is a convoluted mess that I wouldn't let my dog read.

I'm sure my dog can read.

Anyways, I'm placing this story on hiatus. I refuse to say it's abandoned, but…well, Idk, it might be. If I do come back to it, it'll be many months away.

I have some ideas for some other Castle stuff, and I'm doing a Harry Potter fic for NaNoWriMo, so I have some other pieces to focus on. Perhaps if I can successfully write and finish a story again I'll get my writing confidence back and then I can come back to _Everything Changes_ and continue on. We'll see.

Best,

Matt (The Muse of Apollo formerly MattAWeber)


End file.
